Strong Ratings Debut For TNT's 'Dallas'

Last night’s premiere of TNT’s Dallas reboot drew 6.863 million viewers to rank as the No. 1 scripted series premiere on cable so far this year and outperform the broadcast networks from 9-11 PM last night. At TNT, it was the third-most-watched series debut behind Raising The Bar (7.7 million) and Rizoli & Isles (7.6 million), and ahead of last year’s Falling Skies (5.9 million). Like Falling Skies, Dallas was a self-starter while Raising The Bar and Rizzoli & Isles launched behind TNT flagship The Closer.

With Dallas, TNT is aiming at having the top-rated new summer series launch for a third consecutive summer, following Rizzoli & Isles in 2010 and Falling Skies in 2011. Despite being based on an 1980s staple, the Dallas reboot was not too old skewing; it drew 1.926 million viewers among adults 18-49 and 2.482 million in 25-54, slightly down from the 2.1 million (18-49) and 2.7 million (25-54) for the Rizzoli & Isles premiere. (The Falling Skies debut is far ahead with2.64 million 18-49s.)